Category Archives: Immigration

These are some of the facts Mr. Miller wanted to leave out of his article to the Lake Sun. If you go back and read Mr. Millers article you will find that Mr. Miller is lying to the people of Camden County. I find this to go along with what the Republican party is trying to achieve in this state. I don’t know about the rest of the state, but I’m over these politicians making up stories to sell their agenda to the public. How someone like Rocky Miller was elected to this office is beyond me. I guess we just had a lack of options.

The Facts

With a price tag of more than $800million a year, House Bill 253 would permanently undermine
Missouri’s ability to fund education and other vital public services.

House Bill 253 would reduce funding for K-12 education by between $260million and $450million
in a single year. Per pupil spending in Missouri could be reduced by as much as $429 if House Bill 253 became law –putting Missouri in the bottom ten states.

Such drastic cuts to K-12 schools would lead to teacher layoffs, overcrowded classrooms, longer bus
routes and reduced access to technology.

House Bill 253 would also weaken our economy and destabilize our predictable business climate.
Quality schools, skilled workers and safe streets are critical to our -long term economic well being.

The leading independent credit rating agencies also indicated that House Bill 253 would jeopardize
Missouri’s AAA credit rating. A credit downgrade would increase the interest rates and make school
construction and improvement projects more expensive.

That is why the Kansas City Civic Council, representing the largest corporations in the Kansas City
area, urged the Governor to veto House Bill 253 saying the bill would, “do nothing to create jobs or
make businesses more competitive.”

Largely because flawed provisions of the bill could reduce the current fiscal year’s budget by as
much as $1.2 billion, the Governor took action to restrict a portion of the Fiscal Year 2014 budget to
ensure the budget stays in balance, even if his veto is overturned. The Governor will continue to
work to ensure his veto is up held, so that funding for education can be restored.

FAQ

Q: Will triggers prevent harmful cuts to education and other services?

A: No. Two of the most costly provisions of the bill take effect regardless of whether revenue is
going up or down and could begin dramatically reducing revenue in the current fiscal year. Where the
revenue triggers do apply, problems with their drafting mean that they provide no protection from cuts
during the height of the economic recession.

Q: Do we need this tax cut to compete with Kansas?

A: No. Last year, Kansas lawmakers passed their own unaffordable tax plan, which forced them to
come back this year to push through a $777million sales tax increase and make drastic cuts to
education. These actions still didn’t prevent Moody’s from down grading some of Kansas’s bonds. Since
Kansas’s tax cuts went in to effect, Missouri had the 12th fastest employment growth in the nation, while
Kansas ranked 23rd
.
Q: Does Missouri need a tax cut to promote economic growth?

A: No. Missouri has some of the lowest taxes in the nation and was recently recognized as a Top 10
state for business fort he fourth year in a row. Today, Missouri’s unemployment rate has remained
below the national average for 46 straight months, employers added nearly 13,000 jobs last month and
Missouri’s perfect Triple-A credit rating was recently reaffirmed.

Q: Will this bill help ordinary Missouri families?

A: House Bill 253 does little for the middle class. A family near the median income would get the
equivalent of a burger a month. But, those same families will end up paying consider ably more as
Missouri cuts public services.

Q: Will this bill help businesses create jobs and expand?

A: No. Businesses depend on a stable, predictable economic climate and a skilled work force. House
Bill 253 would undermine both. Further more, House Bill 253 gives preferential treatment to select
Missouri businesses, while discriminating against the majority of others based solely on the paperwork
the businesses filed to organize.

Q: Will this bill pay for itself in increased economic activity?

A: No. House Bill 253 is a reckless experiment that would weaken our economy, not strengthen it.
Even under the General Assembly’s own assumptions, this bill would cost nearly $700million annually
when fully phased in.